CarBrandLogos archive · Proton · 2004

ProtonGen-2

Malaysia's first car engineered largely in-house, with a Lotus-honed chassis.

Photo: User:Two hundred percent · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Proton history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Proton Gen-2, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

For two decades Proton had built rebodied Mitsubishis under licence. The Gen-2, on sale from February 2004, was the company's attempt to stand on its own: a five-door liftback styled and engineered in Malaysia, powered by the CamPro four-cylinder that Proton developed with Lotus, the British engineering firm it then owned.

Campro-gen2 · Hezery99 at English Wikipedia · Public domain

Design and engineering

The chassis showed that connection. Ride and steering were sharper than the price suggested, and the car handled well enough to embarrass more expensive rivals in its home market. The rest was harder to defend. Rear space was tight for a compact car, the early CamPro engine was flat at low revs before variable valve timing arrived, and interior quality lagged behind the Japanese and Korean cars Proton was trying to hold off.

Proton Gen.2 , Serdang · User:Two hundred percent · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Built at the new Proton City plant at Tanjung Malim, the Gen-2 was also assembled in China and Iran, and it underpinned the Persona saloon that sold far better. Production for the home market ran to 2012, with the Suprima S taking over. It is remembered less as a good car than as a necessary one, the point at which Proton found out how much of a car it could design alone.

Europe Star · Swoolverton · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2004–2012

Engine

1.3 L CamPro engine

Body

5-door Liftback

Technical specification

The Gen-2, in detail.

Production: February 2004 – 2012
Class: Compact car (C)
Body style: 5-door Liftback
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel drive
Engine: 1.3 L CamPro engine; CamPro S4PE DOHC Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1.5 L Mitsubishi Orion engine; 4G15 I4 (China) ; 1.6 L CamPro engine; CamPro S4PH Multi-point fuel injection; MPFI DOHC I4 ; 1.6 L CamPro engine; CamPro IA
Transmission: 4-speed automatic; 5-speed manual
Assembly: Malaysia: Proton City, Perak (Proton Tanjung Malim Sdn Bhd); (2004–2012, domestic & export; 2013–2015,; 2018-present; export only); China: Jinhua, Zhejiang; (Youngman, CKD); Iran: Borujerd, Lorestan; (Zagross
Manufacturer: Proton